Chong Nonsi welcomes Bloqyard, a community space that gathers restaurants, bars and common areas to escape the hustle and bustle of the business district.
The place was developed from an abandoned space and is just a few steps from BTS Chong Nonsi on Narathiwas 3. There are seven community members: Salad Smith, Scarletta, Crepever, No Drama Burger, Nihon Saiseisakaba, Freshmix and Kana Pure.
Salad Smith
Remember the days of blacksmiths and coppersmiths? In 2023, we have Salad Smith from Joe Sloane. This is Sloane’s first restaurant project and brings salads and healthy bowls. “Some people may find this part of my business a bit strange, being a butcher and now offering salads. But I am a chef and this is my idea of going back and doing something other than just meat. This is my idea of what salads should be — plenty of salad leaves with a bit of grains thrown in. It’s fresh and we have plenty of options. You can choose to order one of our readymade salads or you can build your own. We use a lot of Sloane products so people are assured of top quality. We try and keep produce as organic as possible but we are not 100%. We also try and be sustainable though you may notice plastic, here and there,” explains Sloane.
Salad Smith offers freshly-made salads with locally-sourced ingredients and a variety of toppings, dressings and humanely-sourced proteins. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are available to cater to different dietary needs. Salads on the men are: Smokey cobb salad (B349), which is a lychee wood-smoked chicken, curly kale, romaine, tomato, avocado, quail egg, sweet corn, grape, bacon bits and blue cheese with ranch dressing; the Grilled Wagyu spicy salad (B449) has Wagyu sirloin, mixed leaves, chilli, cucumber, tomato, celery, lemongrass, red onion, Thai vinaigratte dressing and jim jeaw; and the Smoked tofu & soba noodle (B229) uses smoked tofu, soba noodles, red cabbage, carrots, cucumber, spring onion, edamame, sesame, coriander and Mentsuyu sauce.
In addition to salads, Salad Smith also offers wraps, smoothies, granola bowls and cold-pressed juice. It is open daily from 9am-7pm. Call 081-235-6801, email salad.smith.th@gmail.com or follow @saladsmith on IG.
Scarletta
Apart from Salad Smith, Sloane has also opened its first pasta bar, Scarletta, which was initially launched in 2020 as a fresh pasta supplier to hotels and restaurants, as well as in ready-to-cook boxes at Villa Supermarket and Gourmet Market.
The brand believes that the key to a great pasta dish lies in the quality of the ingredients. “Every dish uses fresh pasta made with Italian semolina flour and local free-range eggs. The high quality bronze-cut Italian pasta machine ensures all the pasta has the perfect texture and holds the sauce better. “The idea here is to use the pasta and sauces we make and combine them with the meats from Sloanes. We are not looking to be a full Italian restaurant, we are solely a pasta bar. We are tiny and all our specials of the day are made in-house. We do sell our ready-to-cook pastas and sauces here and at Salad Smith,” says Sloane.
The menu covered all preferences from fresh, stuffed to baked pasta with vegan and gluten-free options. The bar offers up to 25-30 types of pastas, 10 of which will rotate while new ones will be the special of the day. Offerings include, Casarecce, smoked bacon & pesto (B310), which is egg casarecce, smoked bacon and house-made pesto; Black paccheri, seafood stew (B325) otherwise known as squid ink paccheri, mixed seafood, tomato and herbs; and Ravioletti sorrentina minted butter (B325) or four cheese filled ravioli, minted butter and lemon.
Scarletta is open daily from 10am-8pm. Visit FB.com/scarletta.bkk or @IG.com/scarletta.pasta.th.
The Fresh Mix
A fresh new bar by David Spalding, an American bartender passionate about the freshness, fun and vividness of Thailand.
“The Fresh Mix is going for a fun vibe where it’s not only about the cocktails. It’s a new twist on the classic American cocktail bar with the tartness and fun of Bangkok and Asian fruit,” says Spalding. “The differences in raw ingredients make Bangkok interesting to me.” The surprise ingredient in every glass is the ingredients chosen by each bar in different places.
For example, eight signature cocktails are inspired by Sathon, Bangkok or Thailand. The Sathorn Sour (B350) uses sake and vodka instead of whiskey and bourbon, mixed with tropical fruits like lychee and lime. There is a little spicy taste of dried chilli syrup and, of course, soft, fluffy egg whites. The Dead Hipster (B400) tastes quite dark with rye whiskey, black rum and secretly spiced and herbs in bitters to make it spicy. “I made everything in-house, including our bitters and spiced spirits,” adds Spalding.
If you’re looking for a sweet and sour drink that packs a punch, try the Sargeant Pepper (B400). The mezcal-based cocktail is mixed with cherry wine, salted pineapple, tamarind syrup, lime and chilli pepper tincture.
The Fresh Mix is open from 5pm to midnight. Visit fb.com/thefreshmix.
No Drama Burger
No Drama Burger, an LA-style smash burger, was born because the owner couldn't find a premium burger with a homemade quality bun, quality patty and sauce at an affordable price. “We spent months perfecting our recipes, sourcing the best ingredients and experimenting with different combinations. No Drama Burger offers a simple classic with bite-sized beef patties that’s not too thick but still juicy inside. The brand focuses on only one main thing — the Cheeseburger,” says the owner.
To him, every detail matters, so he only makes and sells 50 burgers a day. Though if you’re lucky, your burger may be free as daily until the year-end he will pick a random customer for the free buger. “I make only 50 burgers a day because I can bake 50 a day,” he adds. Prices start from B189 for a single patty to B399 for four patties, which are the maximum in a burger for now. Though sometime in the future, he wants to create a 10-patty stack for IG. Social media wins, always!
A No Drama smashburger is 90g of minced meat, and has American cheese, with the choices of sauces being either sweet or spicy and pickles. That’s it! No Drama Burger is open daily from 11am-2.30pm. Visit nodramaburger.com.
Crepever
“Premium ingredients with sweet and savoury fillings” is how Crepever is described. “The beginning of Crepever is our family,” says Varit “Knott” Sintraveevongse, owner. His family share a mutual love for crepes and even have their own recipe for the snack.
“Crepever has a double meaning, it’s a combination of ‘clever’ that comes from the family’s inside joke and ‘over’ referring to the premium ingredients that the brand offers,” explains Knott. Customised sweet or savoury combinations start from B55. On the sweet side, the signature Banana Split (B105) comes with a combination of banana, chocolate syrup and homemade whipped cream. M&M&M (B155), a sweet and fluffy choice, mixes Maltesers, M&M and Marshmallows together.
For a savoury choice, try the Takoyaki (B125) that is loaded with octopus, takoyaki sauce, seaweed and bonito flakes. The Siam Sandwich (B115) has ham, pork floss and homemade sweet sauce, created by Knott’s sister-in-law. It is a family affair!
“Have a Crepe Day, You’re Crepever” is open daily from 10am-8pm. Visit fb.com/people/Crepever or IG: @crepeverrr.
Nihon Saiseisakaba
The pork specialist opens its second branch at Bloqyard. Nihon Saiseisakaba is a Japanese motsuyaki-style restaurant that specialises in nose-to-tail pork skewers.
Ayudh “Aye” Phonghanyudh, co-owners says that motsuyaki culture traces to World War II, where the eat and drink culture brought happiness back to Japan after their defeat in the way. Nihon Saieisakaba has more than 20 branches all over Japan.
Though motsuyaki-style means that you stand and eat and drink, being Thailand there are plenty of seating available. Skewers that delighted my palate are the Short ribs (B149), Liver (B49) and Throat (B99 baht). Main dishes include Beef fried rice (B169), Grilled chicken rice bowl (B159), Stewed beef tongue (B159) and the popular ‘tsukune’ or Japanese meatballs (B79). Drinks are aplenty with draft beers, whiskey, sake, shochu, plum wine or highball cocktails.
Nihon Saiseisakaba is open daily from 5.30pm to midnight. Call 064-157-3338.
Kana Pure
Kana Wellness Clinic has opened its fourth branch with prices start from B600 for medical canabis and B900-B1,200 per gramme. A special promotion for the soft opening period is buy one gramme gets one joint or buy three grammes get one another gramme for free. Kana Pure is open daily from 11am-11pm. Call 094-551-6259 or visit IG: @Kanapure.dis.
